A door frame assembly including a vehicle door frame, a molding portion attached to the door frame, and a glass run channel is known.
This type of door frame assembly extends from the upper end of a door panel of the vehicle. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a door frame assembly disclosed in JP2010-18130 A from the direction that is perpendicular to the direction in which the door frame assembly extends. As shown in FIG. 10, the door frame assembly includes: a door frame 110; a molding portion 120 attached to the door frame 110; and a glass run channel 130 attached to the molding portion 120.
The door frame 110 is formed by bending a plate-shaped member that is made of a metal. The door frame 110 includes a main frame portion 111 and a flange portion 112. The main frame portion 111 is formed by bending a plate-shaped member that is made of a metal, into a column shape along the direction in which the door frame assembly extends. The cross-sectional shape of the main frame portion 111 is, as shown in FIG. 10, a hollow, closed circle. The flange portion 112 is formed continuing from the main frame portion 111 so as to protrude from the main frame portion 111 toward the vehicle outer side. The flange portion 112 includes a first flange portion 112a configured of one end portion of the plate-shaped member made of metal and a second flange portion 112b configured of the other end portion of the plate-shaped member. The flange portion 112 is formed along the direction in which the door frame assembly extends so that the first flange portion 112a and the second flange portion 112b overlap with each other.
The molding portion 120 is configured of a hard resin, and is attached to the flange portion 112. The molding portion 120 includes a first side wall portion 121 disposed so as to face the entirety of the second flange portion 112b, a second side wall portion 122 connected to a vehicle outer end of the first side wall portion 121, and a third side wall portion 123 connected to the second side wall portion 122 and disposed so as to face the entirety of the first flange portion 112a. The molding portion 120 is formed along the direction in which the door frame assembly extends so as to cover the flange portion 112. The glass run channel 130, which is configured of a flexible resin, is attached to the molding portion 120. Furthermore, a sealing lip 140 is attached to the surface of the third side wall portion 123 of the molding portion 120 that opposes the first flange portion 112a. The sealing lip 140 is formed along the direction in which the door frame assembly extends, and a tip portion thereof makes contact with the first flange portion 112a. The sealing lip 140 prevents foreign objects (raindrops or the like) from the outside from entering into the space between the first side wall portion 121 of the molding portion 120 and the second flange portion 112b. 
As shown in FIG. 11, the door frame assembly disclosed in JP2006-51906A also includes: a door frame 210 in which a column-shaped main frame portion 211 and a flange portion 212 that protrudes toward the vehicle outer side from the main frame portion 211 are formed; a molding portion 220, made from a hard resin, that is attached to the flange portion 212 of the door frame 210; and a glass run channel 230, made from a flexible resin, that is attached to the molding portion 220. A core member 240, made from a metal, is provided within the molding portion 220.
According to the door frame assembly disclosed in JP2010-18130 A, the molding portion 120 configured of a hard resin is formed across a wide region. Due to the hardness of the hard resin, it is necessary to have a large bending force when bending the molding portion configured of a hard resin. Accordingly, in the case where the door frame assembly is bent, it is difficult to precisely bend the molding portion so as to follow the shape of the door frame assembly. In particular, the vertical door frame assembly provided along a vertical edge portion (an edge formed along the vertical direction) of an opening in the vehicle door which is covered by a slidable window glass curves so as to incline from the vehicle outer side toward the vehicle inner side as the vertical door frame assembly extends toward an upper side. Accordingly, in the case where the door frame assembly shown in FIG. 10 is to be applied in a vertical door frame assembly, it is necessary to bend the molding portion 120 from the vehicle outer side toward the vehicle inner side. At this time, a greater bending force is required as the width of the molding portion 120 which represents the length from the vehicle outer side end of the molding portion 120 to the vehicle inner side end of the molding portion 120 is greater. The greater the required bending force, the more difficult it is to bend the molding portion 120 in a precise manner (or, the molding portion 120 simply does not bend).
It is considered to cut out part of a molding portion configured of a hard resin in order to reduce the necessary bending force. The cutout portion of the hard resin is, for example, the region indicated by “PORTION A” in FIG. 10, which does not include the location where the glass run channel is formed. Cutting out the region indicated by “PORTION A” reduces a width S of the third side wall portion 123. The width S represents the length from the vehicle outer side end of the third side wall portion 123 to the vehicle inner side end of the third side wall portion 123 of the molding portion 120. Thus, the bending force required when bending the molding portion 120 from the vehicle outer side toward the vehicle inner side is reduced. However, in the case where the region indicated by “PORTION A” is cut out, the sealing lip 140 is also cut out. If the sealing lip 140 is cut out, raindrops or the like enter from the cutout, and the raindrops that have entered land on an cut end of the door frame 110 (the location indicated as “PORTION B” in FIG. 10). It is highly unlikely that a rust inhibitor has been applied to the cut end of the door frame 110, and thus this area will rust due to the raindrops that have landed thereon.
The same problem, which is rusting, can also arise in the door frame assembly disclosed in JP2006-51906A. Furthermore, the core member 240, made from a metal, is provided within the molding portion 220. This leads to increases in the weight and the material costs thereof. Furthermore, in the case where the door frame assembly disclosed in JP2006-51906A is applied in a curved door frame assembly, it is necessary to bend the core provided in the molding portion 220 in advance. This leads to an increase in manufacturing costs.
Thus, a need exists for a door frame assembly which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.